Competing with privet hedge

Behind my fence on one side of my yard, is my neighbor's decades old privet hedge which also includes 2 pin oaks. Nothing I have planted along that fence has done well and I'm thinking that it's bcs of root competition with the privet and the oaks.

Guess I need something tough to duke it out with those guys. I want tall evergreen shrubs. They'll get little sun - dappled shade most of the day - an hour or 2 of direct sun in very late afternoon.

What shrubs would you suggest? I'm in zone 7a with red Georgia clay for soil..

Thanks,
Sherry

Have you looked around at what others are growing in their landscapes? Tsuga canadensis handlles root competition from oaks and they like the same soil. They will handle dappled shade just fine too. Hemlock also gets tall. But they will not tolerate excessive heat or drought. The USDA plant profile shows a natural distribution of hemlocks in some northern GA counties. They would have to be well watered to get them established.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/81735/

Sorry, I should have been more specific on height - something 8 - 10 ft. high is what I'm looking for.

Haven't specifically looked to see what others are growing next to a privet hedge. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that.

I have a Cleyera there that seems to be holding it's own - but that's abt all - hasn't grown much. Same with the azaleas. Looks like my Camelia sasanqua might be losing the battle.

My biggest fear is that I'll have to go with eleagnus. Please - save me from eleagnus!.
skw

They don't look so bad. At least not to a cold zone northen gardener. There are a lot of varieties to choose from.

Just bumping this up in hopes that more people will take a look.

I spoke to the owner of our local nursery the other day and he said he would have to give it some thought,,,,so I guess this is a hard one.

Not going to be easy. The problem is those Pin Oaks - if it wasn't for them, you would be able to put in a root barrier immediately inside your fence line and get rid of the privet roots. But doing so would also severely damage (possibly even kill) the Pin Oaks.

Resin

Aaah. While I might like to kill the pin oaks, I guess it wouldn't be the neighborly thing to do, would it.

What about Yaupon Holly? Was just reading that it will grow in sun or shade (tho slowly in shade) and wet or dry soil.

Yep, spot on with not the neighbourly thing! Unfortunately, oaks are fairly sensitive to root disturbance (unlike privet!!).

Yaupon Holly would have no problems with the shade, but privet also has very dense and 'greedy' roots that suck up all the water and nutrients; it is renowned for not wanting to share with other plants. If you could work out which roots are from the privet, and which are from the oaks, you could maybe cut out some of the worst surface roots from the privet; that would allow the holly a good chance to get established before the privet roots re-grow.

Resin

The house is going into foreclosure. Maybe the new owners will cut down the oak trees!! Maybe they will cut down the privet hedge (which, BTW, is infested with euonymus) and plant something else!! Maybe I'll win the lottery and be able to move!!!

This is evil but if it's in foreclosure you might want to help some of those plants to their demise. My neighbor had the house next to him up for sale and the owners moved out of state. There was a big pine tree hanging over part of his backyard. Strangely the pine just disappeared. LOL.

Believe me, I'm having those thoughts!

My ex-neighbors Silver Maple went to the tree farm in the sky when she went.

Every time my neighbor goes out of town, I am sorely tempted to take out the cottonwood tree in his front yard. I say "Go for it" in helping that privet hedge to meet its maker. ;)

LOL. First seed and cuttings stealers, now tree killers. I don't know about this bunch. LOL. The ruthless secret world of Dave's Garden. Hahha

If you time it right, no one will ever know .... < evil grin > Hahaha

Just kidding ..... I know someone who grouped the neighbors all together and chipped in "their share" to "help" a fellow neighbor remove a nuisance cottonwood. It worked, no more cottonwood!

Perhaps a properly composed question to the neighbor might help reach a compromise?

After all, if, after knowing you cannot use part of YOUR yard because of something in HIS yard, and that you have the legal right to cut the roots that grow onto your property which might kill his trees, which you note you have YET to do, and he is still not compromising, then .....

Game afoot??

It is, in the long run, your yard ... :-)

I am having a similar situation, but with a neighbor and lawn clippings piled up (on an empty lot behind several of our properties) and spreading taproot dandelion weed seeds far and wide, that all us neighbors have to labor religiously to keep at bay. Ignorant son "doing mom a favor" kind of situation.... how do you deal? as we do have to be neighbors!!!

I dunno. It's always a tough one.

From a legal standpoint, in most areas your right to trim branches, roots etc on your side of the fence generally only extends to doing things that do not kill the neighbor's plants, so I don't think the argument that you could cut the roots on your side and that might kill his trees/shrubs is going to get you very far.

Still its in foreclosure I would be surprised if the bank would know or do anything. There was a house on CNBC in Detriot that was foreclosed on and it was on the marklet for 19 days at $1 till it sold. LOL. Someone possible the former owners had ripped every piece of metal out of the house and sold it as scrap. Wiring, plumbing, sinks etc. everything. LOL. I don't know where this house is but apparently the banks are ending up with houses that get simply trashed. Seriously doubt they would worry about the bushes.

I wonder legally what happens if you sell all your metal in the house then it forecloses? That's not the first time I've seen a story like that.

In Ohio you can trim and/or cut anything back to the property line regardless of the effect on the plant, tree or shrub. If a neighbor's tree suffers any ill effects from trimmed limbs or cut roots you're OK as long as you did all the work solely on that plant material which was located on your side.

You can't put down weed killer that would wash into an adjoining property however. You also can't let your eves or any other water drainage system situtated so that it drains onto another's property. The law here is quite clear on these issues. Many I know of have been caught off guard. A neighbor had to tear up and redrain a brand new self installed concrete driveway because it drained into the next door neighbor's yard.

So, if in Ohio your maple tree roots are pushing up the neighbors driveway and hanging over his car your neighbor can legally cut off the roots on his side and cut back the limbs on his side. If the tree dies as a result it's your problem.

Just a thought . . .

If the house is being auctioned off for a song, you might end up with new neighbours who might not be too nice (you know the sort, keep half-a-dozen old car wrecks in their garden) . . . . might just be worth keeping that privet as a barrier against eyesores!

Resin

Here is a PRIME example for y'all!! :-)

My neighbor is elderly now, but he still has the where-with-all to continue to prune my huge mulberry tree ..... RIGHT up to the property line, over his fence.

He is a good neighbor, though!

Here in WNY the laws are the same, Snapple, you dig those roots out if they are on your side. I think the more diplomatic approach is best (at first!!).

Resin - You hit the nail on the head. The neighbor's yard has been an eyesore since I moved in and I have been thankful for that privet hedge for that reason. 2 doors down, new owners moved in and tore out a privet hedge-- apparently they don't mind staring into their neighbor's yards and vice versa. If this one gets torn down (and not replaced), I'll be staring down at least 3 yards with dog pens, cars being worked on etc. (That's why I want to plant some tall evergreens on my side of the fence.)

I live in an old low income neighborhood that's been going down hill, so the chances of someone putting in a nice hedge are probably slim to none. (Several are rental houses and the landlords obviously couldn't care less.)

I think I could live with the privet hedge if the oak trees were gone (but I'm probably not physically able to dig the roots, so they're safe for now ;-)

Leave the privet then. Makes a great view blocker. Not likely someone will run through it either.

Now that I think about it how about Yucca? It's used down on the coast for security and fences. Gets big, evergreen and nasty stuff to try to move through. They can take shade and I doubt much would stop them. Not sure if you're warm enough for the ones we have around here but I think they grow all the way into zone 6.

Forgot, you can make soap out of Yucca.

Yucca...very interesting. I'll have to take a look at that. What I am picturing in my mind, wouldn't fit in with the rest of my landscaping but maybe there are forms that I don't know abt. Thanks!

If left wild it forms about 6 ft height mounds that keep spreading out at a fairly slow pace. It will fill in well but you would have to look up the different varieties. It's common around where I live.

Firstyard, I'm not sure how well yews would do in your zone, but in my yard they tolerate shady dry conditions very well. Maybe they could compete well with the privet and oak roots. Only problem is, it'll take them a while to reach the height you want unless you shell out the money to buy large ones.

Now this thread has me thinking about the huge Colorado spruce trees lining the border of my neighbors' property (these are the neighbors on the other side from the cottonwood-tree-loving neighbor). Over the 18 years we have lived in our house, those spruce have steadily encroached upon my yard and garden. I hate to keep trimming their branches, but if I don't, I won't have much yard at all. The one nearest the street came down in a storm several years ago, and I convinced the neighbors not to replace it. Now I have a nice little full-sun garden bed there.

Come to think of it, every single thing those neighbors have in their yard seems to be invasive: vinca, ivy, ferns, orange daylilies, trees.....sigh.

Sometimes you have to work with what's given to you. LOL. I have large pines on one side of my yard which it's lucky that my neighbor on that side also has a few. The area is shaded by tall pines and we just plant to suit the area. Now if they move and I get a new neighbor who cuts down all their pines I will most likely be public enemy number one. I'm talking 45-50 ft pines that lose needles, cones and limbs on almost a daily basis. LOL. The backyard is about a half acre with a small fruit orchard on one side and pines on the other. This picture is a couple of years old and the pines haven't gotten any smaller.

"I'm talking 45-50 ft pines that lose needles, cones and limbs on almost a daily basis. "

Oh yeah, I can relate to that! Sharp evergreen needles everywhere, ouch!

VERY nice!! Would love to have pines like that!

There not in the picture but the front of the house is framed by two southern magnolias. I'm going for an estate look. The magnolias are in the 30 ft range and they're closest to the street then the tall pines. My house so of course I like it. LOL.

If anyone cares I updated the front yard picture. Pines haven't gotten smaller.

Nice!

Loblolly Pines I presume?

Resin

Yes, wish they were long leaf but they'll do.